Rivet setting tool



1969 F. c. LAHNSTON RIVET SETTING TOOL Sheet Filed March 31. 1967 Kw. a l i i a K m 3 m FRANK c LAHNSTON BY A TTORNEY Feb. 11, 1969 F. c. LAHNSTON RIVET SETTING TOOL Sheet Filed March 31. 1967 ATTORNEY INVENTOR FRA NK C.LAHNSI'ON k504i M 4 4 Q United States Patent 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rivet setting tool includes a pusher member mounted in a frame which terminates a handle. A lever is pivotally connected to the frame and has its end attached to the pusher member to move the pusher member relative to the frame. A yoke member is attached to the frame and includes a bore. A jaw member is mounted in the bore to define, along with a portion of the surface of the bore, a cavity for receiving the mandrel of a rivet. A nose piece attached to the base of the pusher member has an extension portion to contact the jaw member when the lever and handle are pivoted apart to move the jaw member upward in a tapered groove to enlarge the mandrel receiving opening. A spring member urges the jaw member downwardly and the lever away from the handle.

This invention relates generally to rivet setting tools, and more particularly to manually operable riveting tools for setting rivet assemblies of the type having a rivet body mounted on a mandrel wherein a head portion on the mandrel is adapted to expand the tail portion of the rivet body.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved rivet setting tool.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a revit setting tool which is simple in construction and consists of a minimum number of parts.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rivet setting tool which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a rivet setting tool for setting blind rivet assemblies of the type including a rivet body and mandrel wherein the gripping action by the tool on the mandrel is improved.

Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a rivet setting tool which takes into account the natural closing of the hand during the setting operation.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rivet setting tool wherein the pressure of the spring urging the jaw into its gripping position is increased as the handles are pulled together.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rivet tool having an improved action to open the tool for inserting the mandrel of a rivet assembly.

These and other objects of the present invention may become more apparent by reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment and to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a rivet setting tool embodying the features of the present invention;

FTGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1, and;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, but showing the tool opened and a rivet assembly inserted therein.

Referring to the drawings, a rivet tool constructed in 3,426,572 Patented Feb. 11, 1969 accordance with the present invention includes generally a frame member 2 terminating in a handle portion 4, a lever 6 pivotally connected to the frame member 2 and terminating in a channel-shaped handle portion 8, a pusher member 10 mounted for reciprocal movement in the frame member 2 and operably connected to the lever 6 for movement thereby, a yoke 12 attached to the frame member 2, a jaw member 14 mounted within the yoke 12, and a spring 16 having one end engaging the lever 6 and its other end engaging the jaw member 14.

More specifically, the frame member 2 includes a housing portion 17 having side walls 18 and 20 and front flanges 22 and 24 spaced apart to provide an elongated slot 26. The handle portion 4 extends reariwardly and upwardly from the housing portion 17 and is generally channel-shaped.

The lever 6 extends into the area between the side walls 18 and 20 of the frame member 2 and includes a bifurcated forward portion forming fingers 28 and 38. The lever 6 is pivotally attached to the frame member 2 by means of a pivot pin 31 extending through the side walls 18 and 20 of the frame member :2 and through a bore 32 in each of the fingers 28 and 30 of the lever 6. The pivot pin 31 includes two spaced circumferential undercuts 33 in line with the fingers 28 and 30 of the lever 6. The bores 32 have a diameter slightly greater than the outer diameter of pivot pin 31 to provide clear ance therebetween. The spring 16 forces the lever 6 generally downwardly with respect to the frame member 2 so that the portion of the fingers 28 and 30 of lever 6 immediately above the bores 32 are received within the undercuts 33 to prevent lateral movement of the pivot pin 31.

The pusher member 10 is generally channel-shaped and includes lower opposed side walls 34 and 36, upper opposed side walls 38 and 40, a front wall 42 connecting both sets of side walls, and a base 43. Each of the lower side walls 34 and 36 includes a cutout portion 44. The front wall *42 includes an axially extending raised guide portion 46 which extends into the slot 26 between the front flanges 22 and 24. The upper side walls 38 and '40 are offset inwardly with respect to their corresponding lower side walls 34 and 36 and extend upwardly between the fingers 28 and 30 of the lever 6. Each of the upper side walls 38 and '40 includes a cutout 48. A pin member 50 extends between the finger portions 28 and 38 of the lever 6 and is received within the cutouts 48.

The yoke 12 is connected to the frame member 2 by means of an elongated boss 52 on each side thereof. Each boss 52 is received within an appropriate slot 54 in the side walls 18 and 20 and includes an enlarged seating surface 56 for contact by the side walls 18 and 20. The yoke 12 may be attached to the frame member 2 by spreading the side walls 18' and 20 with a suitable instrument until the yoke 12 can be inserted between them. The natural resilience of the frame member 2 will urge the side walls 18 and 20 together until they seat on surfaces 56 after the yoke 12 has been inserted.

The forward surface 58 of the yoke 12 extends into the area between the lower side walls 34 and 36 of the pusher member 10 into a position substantially in contact with inside of the front wall 42 of the pusher mem- The jaw member 14 is mounted within the bore 64 and includes spaced lug members 72 on both sides thereof positioned in the crossbar portion 70 of the rearward portion 68 of the bore 64 and a rearward surface 73 having a taper corresponding to the taper of the rearward portion 68 of the bore 64. The forward surface 74 of the jaw member 14 extends generally parallel to the axis of the forward surface 66 of the bore 64 in the yoke 12 and is provided with a purality of mandrel gripping teeth 75. The upper portion of the jaw member 14 includes a head 78 having a groove 80 in its upper surface 82 which tapers downwardly and forward. A flange 84 extending rearwardly of the head 78 is adapted to abut the top of the yoke 12. The axial length of the jaw member 14 is such that when the flange 84 is in abutment with the top of the yoke 12, the bottom portion of the jaw member 14 extends from the bottom of the yoke 12.

The spring 16 is formed from wire and is coiled about the pivot pin 31 and includes a first end portion 86 extending rearwardly and into contact with the bottom of the channel-shaped handle portion 8 of the lever 6. The second end portion 88 extends downwardly and into contact with the bottom surface of the groove 80 in the head 78 of jaw member 14.

The base 43 of the pusher member has an internally threaded, axially extending, bore 90 in alignment with the bore 64 of the yoke 12 for reception of an externally threaded nose piece 92. The nose piece 92 includes an axially extending bore 94, a forward head portion 96, and a rearward extension 98. The diameter of the bore 94 of the nose piece 92 is so dimensioned as to provide a sliding fit with the mandrel of the rivet assembly to laterally support the mandrel during the setting operation. For this purpose, nose pieces having bores of various diameters are included with the tool and are interchangeable with the one mounted On the pusher member whereby rivet assemblies having mandrels of different diameters may be set with the tool.

Each handle portion 4 and 8 may be provided with plastic grips 100 and 102 having finger spacing projections 104. For convenience, the bottom surface of the top handle grip 100 may be provided with a series of holes 106 to hold the extra nose pieces 108 when not in use.

The side walls of the upper handle portion 4 may include turned in flanges 110 adapted to contact the side walls of the lower handle portion 8 when the two handles are pulled together to provide stop means to limit their movement.

The neutral position of the tool is shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. The spring 16 urges the lever 6 into its intermediate position and forces the jaw member 14 downwardly Within the yoke 12 until the flange 84 abuts the top surface thereof. To open the tool for reception of the rivet assembly, the handles 4 and 8 are spread apart moving the pin member 50 upwardly and thereby moving the pusher member 10 upwardly within the frame memher 2. Since the jaw member 14 extends downwardly beyond the bottom of the yoke 12, as the pusher member 10 moves upwardly the rearward surface 112 of the nose piece 92 contacts the bottom surface 114 of the jaw member 14 and pushes it upwardly. Since the lug members 72 are mounted in the tapering crossbar portion 70 of the bore 64 in the yoke 12, the upward movement of the nose piece 92 causes the forward surface 74 of the jaw member 14 to move upwardly and away from the forward surface 66 of the bore 64 thereby providing an enlarged opening for insertion of the mandrel of the rivet assembly.

One type of rivet assembly that may be used with the tool of this invention is shown in FIGURE 5. Such assembly comprises a mandrel 116 having an elongated gripping portion 118 and an enlarged head portion 120. The mandrel 116 includes a weakened portion -122 adjacent the head portion 120. A tubular rivet body 124 is mounted on the mandrel and includes a tail portion 126 positioned adjacent the head portion and a flange 128 positioned adjacent the gripping portion 118'.

With the tool in its open position as shown in FIGURE 5, the gripping portion 118 of the rivet assembly may be inserted through the bore 94 of the nose piece '92 into the area between mandrel gripping teeth 76 of the jaw member 14 and the forward surface 66 of the bore 64 in the yoke 12.

When the operator pulls the handles 4 and 8 together, the pusher member 10 moves downwardly within the frame member 2 permitting the jaw member 14 to move downwardly and forwardly into gripping relation with the mandrel 116 under the influence of the spring 16. Further closing of the handles 4 and 8 forces the pusher member 10 and its nose piece 92 against the flange 128 of the rivet body 124 pushing the rivet body 124 toward the head portion 120 of the mandrel 116. The closing of the handles is continued until the head portion 120 expands the tail portion 126 of the rivet body 124 and the mandrel 116 snaps at its weakened portion 122. The operator may then spread the handles 4 and 8 into their open position causing the jaw member 14 to move away from the forward surface 66 in the bore 64 of the yoke 12 whereby the gripping portion 118 of the mandrel 116 is released and the mandrel 116 may be extracted through the bore 94 of the nose piece 92 or through hole 130 in the frame member 2.

It will be appreciated that the length of the rearward extension 98 of the nose piece 92 determines the upward movement of the jaw member 14 in the yoke 12 when the tool is opened and thus determines the amount of opening provided for the insertion of the mandrel 116. Accordingly, when a mandrel of relatively large diameter is used, the rearward extension of the nose piece should be longer than that of the nose piece for use with a mandrel of smaller diameter. It is also to be noted that when the handles 4 and 8 are moved from the open position, the spring 16 is coiled about the pivot pin 31 which effectively increases the pressure exerted by the second end portion 88 of the spring 16 on the jaw member 14 thereby increasing the gripping pressure of the jaw member 14 on the mandrel 116 as the handles 4 and 8 are closed.

In closing the tool, the lever 6 is drawn toward the handle portion 4 of the frame member 2. By virtue of this construction, the natural closing of the operators hand by moving the fingers toward the palm is utilized.

The tool may be easily disassembled by disengaging the end portion 88 of spring 16 from the jaw member 14 and then aligning the bores 32 in the fingers 28 and 30 with the openings in the side walls 18 and 20 of the frame member 2 and removing the pivot pin 31. With the pivot pin 31 removed, and the lever 6 separated from the frame member 2, the jaw member 14 may be removed from the bore 64 in the yoke 12 and replaced by a new one if necessary. Thus, the tool can be disassembled for normal maintenance without the use of special tools.

While reference has been made to one particular embodiment of this invention, various alterations and modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of this invention should be ascertained by reference to the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rivet tool for setting rivet assemblies of the type including a rivet mounted on a mandrel, the combination of frame means including a handle, pusher means mounted in said frame means for relative movement therewith and having a mandrel receiving opening therein, lever means connected to said frame means by pivot means and operably connected to said pusher means relative to said frame means, jaw holding means attached to said frame means and having a bore therein, aligned with the mandrel receiving opening, jaw means mounted in said bore and defining with a portion of the surface of said bore a mandrel receiving cavity, and means carried by said pusher means to move said jaw means relative to said jaw holding means upon pivotal movement of said lever away from said handle to enlarge said mandrel receiving cavity.

2. The rivet tool of claim 1 wherein said bore in said jaw holding means includes a surface tapering inwardly in a direction toward said mandrel receiving opening, and said jaw member includes a first surface extending parallel to the axis of said mandrel receiving opening and a second surface having a taper corresponding to the taper of said bore and in engagement therewith, said first surface having mandrel gripping teeth thereon.

3. The tool of claim 2 wherein the tapering portion of the bore includes a pair of opposed tapering grooves and said jaw member includes a plurality of projections extending into said grooves.

4. The tool of claim 2 further including spring means urging said jaw member relative to said jaw holding means in a direction closing said mandrel receiving cavity.

5. The tool of claim 4 wherein said spring means is a wire spring wrapped about said pi'vot means and with one end in engagement with said jaw means and its other end in engagement with said lever.

6. The tool of claim 4 wherein said means for moving said jaw means comprises a nose piece attached to the base of said pusher member, said nose piece having an extension portion adapted to contact the jaw means upon pivotal movement of said lever away from said handle 7. A rivet setting tool for setting rivet assemblies of the type including a rivet mounted on a mandrel comprising frame means having a rearwardly extending handle; said frame means including spaced side walls and front flanges spaced apart to define a slot; ayoke member attached to said side walls and including a forwardly extending projection; a channel shaped pusher member mounted for relative movement with respect to said frame member; said pusher member including a projection extending into said slot; said projection of said yoke member extending into said channel whereby said pusher member is restrained from lateral movement by said side walls, flanges, and yoke member; said pusher member having a base; a nose piece threadedly secured to said base and having a mandrel receiving opening therein; said yoke member having a bore defined by front wall means having an arcuate cross-section and a rear surface convergingly tapering toward said front surface from top to bottom; grooves in the side of said bore having a taper corresponding to the taper of said rear surface; a jaw member positioned in said bore having a rear surface having a taper corresponding to the taper of the rear surface of said bore and in engagement therewith; the forward surface of said jaw member and said front wall of said bore defining a tmandrel receiving cavity; lugs projecting from both sides of said jaw member and positioned in said grooves; a flange on said jaw member adjacent the top surface thereof to contact the top surface of said yoke to limit downward movement of said jaw within said yoke; a lever member pivotally connected to said frame by a pivot pin and having one end extending outward therefrom; said lever being connected to the said pusher member at a point adjacent said other end to provide means whereby the pus-her member may be moved relative to said frame means in a direction parallel to the aixs of said mandrel receiving cavity; and a spring member wrapped about said pivot pin and having one end in contact with the top surface of said jaw member to bias said jaw member downwardly in said yoke member and the other end engaging said lever to tend to rotate said lever away from said handle; said nose piece including an extension position adapted to contact the bottom of said jaw member when said lever and handle are rotated apart to move said jaw member upwardly along said tapered surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,471,598 5/1949 Wilt 72-391 3,003,657 10/1961 Sie-bol 72-391 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,116,324 l/1956 France.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner. 

